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The City of Regina is getting $7.8 million from the federal government to create 29 new affordable housing units.
With the funds, the city will partner with non-profit organizations providing housing. They will have 60 days to submit projects, to be completed within a year of receiving the funds.
New housing units could come in the form of modular homes, buildings that have been purchased and repurposed or otherwise fixed up, said Adam Vaughan, the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.
“It’s so much cheaper to solve this crisis than it is to manage it. Prisons are the most expensive way to house people. The only thing that comes close to that are hospitals and the only thing worse than that is a shelter,” said Vaughan, who is also the Minister Responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
“When we get people into permanent housing with supports, they thrive. They succeed and they become people who contribute to the health and strength of our communities.”
Vaughan said housing is an “extension of the health system,” especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were urged to stay home.
“If you didn’t have a home, that medicine wasn’t available for you,” he said.
The money comes from the Government of Canada’s Rapid Housing Initiative program, which comes in two rounds. Neither Regina nor Saskatoon were included in the first round of funding, which totalled $1 billion and created 4,700 units across the country.
This time, there’s another $1.5 billion available, with both Regina and Saskatoon included. The latter city was recently allocated $6.7 million to create 36 units.
Over the next six weeks, Regina mayor Sandra Masters says the city will work with community-based organizations to determine which projects will qualify for funding, that people will be moving in this fall.
Nearly 2,000 people experience homelessness or are at risk of becoming homeless in Regina each year, she said. On any day, 200 people are homeless.
“The core of human dignity is a place for shelter, that place of home. Accessing and maintaining safe, stable housing remains a challenge for many Regina residents due to uncertain housing situations,” Masters said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a corrected version of the story, reflecting that housing projects will be finished within 12 months of receiving the federal funds.
